The invention relates to a rocker arm assembly for the rear derailleur of a bicycle. The rocker arm assembly comprises an outer plate carrying a pivot pin, an inner plate and a pair of idle transmission wheels arranged between the inner plate and the outer plate and intended to co-operate with the chain.
The field of components for competition bicycles is characterised by continuous research aimed at reducing the weight of single components without compromising performance, particularly in terms of structural resistance.
In rocker arm assemblies of the known kind, the front plate and the rear plate are both made of light metallic alloys and are reciprocally fastened by means of screws which define the rotation axes of the transmission wheels. The use of different materials that would provide a reduction in weight often puts problems in terms of maintaining structural resistance characteristics. Furthermore, the problem related to the dimensions of the plates of the rocker arm assembly cannot be neglected since this unit is arranged very close to the spokes of the wheel, when the chain meshes the pinion which is closest to the wheel.
In order to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks, the invention relates to a rocker arm assembly having the characteristics specifically recited in the annexed claim.
The rocker arm assembly according to the invention is characterised in that the inner plate is made of metallic material and the outer plate is made of a structural fibre fabric incorporated in a thermoplastic material matrix.
This solution provides high stiffness and small thickness of the inner plate which is more affected by problems of occupied space to prevent interference with the wheel. The outer plate has less problems of stiffness and occupied space and can be made of a lighter material, for example a composite carbon fibre based material. Considering that the inner plate is made of metallic material, it can be provided with threaded holes as in the traditional solutions, for engaging the threaded ends of the screws defining the rotation axes of the transmission wheels. If the inner plate were also to be made of structural fibre fabric incorporated in resin, the problem of making the plate thicker would arise to ensure the same resistance to flexion and the increased thickness would cause an interference with the spokes of the wheel. Furthermore, making threaded holes in fibre fabric incorporated in a plastic material matrix would not be possible and threaded metallic inserts would have to be used. This would increase the problem of occupied space of the inner plate.